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United States5162 Posts
Let's start this off by saying I have a very basic understanding of computer hardware/software. I understand the theory, and barely that. That being said, I have no clue how a computer can be 'dead' for over a month, and then start working again like there was hardly a problem.
I speak of my work computer. Over a month ago it gave me a BSOD one Friday, but I had to be at a project site, so I shut it down and left for the weekend. The next Monday it gave me a few more, and only got worse from there. I tried using windows repair, which half the time said it couldn't detect a problem and the rest of the time wouldn't be able to fix the problem it found. Using a system restore point was also impossible, as it didn't list any restore points to choose from. A repair guy even came by and couldn't get anything out of it.
So of course I let the main office know, and have been waiting for a new computer ever since(I really don't know what's taking them so long). In the meantime, I kept using the computer while in safe mode, which seemed to stop the BSODs for the most part. Eventually, even that failed and finally the computer wouldn't even turn on. So I started using a co-workers backup XP machine until yesterday when he needed it back. Out of desperation, well mostly boredom, I hooked up the dead computer for shits and giggles and surprisingly it turned on. I tried using windows repair again, which again didn't find a problem, but then when I tried using windows restore it had 10 restore points listed. I selected one from about a month before the problem started, and voila, it somehow worked.
So now I'm left utterly dumbfounded and just wanted to share my amazement on how strange
computers can be. If someone wants to explain how this is possible it'd be cool, but mostly I'm just aghast that this is even possible(which I'm sure shows my ignorance).
 
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I sometimes do computer repair and one of the most common problems i see that make the owners feel "computers are strage" is simple hardware cleaning, in one word, dust. I see computers that "look" clean, but when i actualy take out the GPU and look at the cooler...
Dust is a funny thing. The PC can work perfectly in 9 out of 10 situation but then, after many hours of work, higher office temps then usual, etc, boom BSOD and other errors. Leve it alone for a few days, one cooler day and everything looks fine. Wichcraft :p
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On April 17 2012 22:12 Sapphire.lux wrote:
I sometimes do computer repair and one of the most common problems i see that make the owners feel "computers are strage" is simple hardware cleaning, in one word, dust. I see computers that "look" clean, but when i actualy take out the GPU and look at the cooler...
Dust is a funny thing. The PC can work perfectly in 9 out of 10 situation but then, after many hours of work, higher office temps then usual, etc, boom BSOD and other errors. Leve it alone for a few days, one cooler day and everything looks fine. Wichcraft :p
Agreed, dusty gummed up fans and vents plus temperature variations make for some odd behaviours.
What came to mind also is that faulty/cheap powersupplies can also cause these types of issues. Capacitors can slowly fail or have a cracked/faulty solder joint and cause weird fluctuations that effect everything in your computer including the cpu and memory causing bsods. The fact that it just wouldn't turn on for a time really makes me suspect this also.
Dirty fans/cheap power supplies are the number one killer of hardware in my personal experience.
edit: just realized I typed cheap as cheep...twice fml Im no good before my coffee kicks in
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Your registry was probably corrupted and the random restore fixed it.
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Actually, this really sounds to me like it's a memory issue. Often times when memory sticks are broken you will get random crashes but sometimes it will work perfectly.
That happened to me. I kept trying to reinstall windows and the install would crash at random locations. Did a memory test and realized that was the problem.
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United States5162 Posts
On April 17 2012 22:12 Sapphire.lux wrote:
I sometimes do computer repair and one of the most common problems i see that make the owners feel "computers are strage" is simple hardware cleaning, in one word, dust. I see computers that "look" clean, but when i actualy take out the GPU and look at the cooler...
Dust is a funny thing. The PC can work perfectly in 9 out of 10 situation but then, after many hours of work, higher office temps then usual, etc, boom BSOD and other errors. Leve it alone for a few days, one cooler day and everything looks fine. Wichcraft :p
That's very possible. The computer was a hand-me-down to begin with, so it's probably accumulated its fair share of dust.
On April 18 2012 01:02 Synwave wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2012 22:12 Sapphire.lux wrote:
I sometimes do computer repair and one of the most common problems i see that make the owners feel "computers are strage" is simple hardware cleaning, in one word, dust. I see computers that "look" clean, but when i actualy take out the GPU and look at the cooler...
Dust is a funny thing. The PC can work perfectly in 9 out of 10 situation but then, after many hours of work, higher office temps then usual, etc, boom BSOD and other errors. Leve it alone for a few days, one cooler day and everything looks fine. Wichcraft :p Agreed, dusty gummed up fans and vents plus temperature variations make for some odd behaviours. What came to mind also is that faulty/cheap powersupplies can also cause these types of issues. Capacitors can slowly fail or have a cracked/faulty solder joint and cause weird fluctuations that effect everything in your computer including the cpu and memory causing bsods. The fact that it just wouldn't turn on for a time really makes me suspect this also. Dirty fans/cheap power supplies are the number one killer of hardware in my personal experience. edit: just realized I typed cheap as cheep...twice fml Im no good before my coffee kicks in
Thanks for bringing this up; it's something I hadn't considered at all. It gets moved back and forth quite a bit so that my ear buds reach the socket, and that probably puts extra strain on the power cord and psu.
On April 18 2012 01:19 Horuku wrote:
Your registry was probably corrupted and the random restore fixed it.
Does that really explain the BSODs, windows repair, and power issues?
On April 18 2012 04:52 Abductedonut wrote:
Actually, this really sounds to me like it's a memory issue. Often times when memory sticks are broken you will get random crashes but sometimes it will work perfectly.
That happened to me. I kept trying to reinstall windows and the install would crash at random locations. Did a memory test and realized that was the problem.
The crashes started out kind of random, but after a day or so it got to the point where it would BSOD within a minute or two of booting up if it wasn't in safe mode. I'll still run a mem test, though.
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EPT
